Powell praises ‘amazing’ Castleford pack

Tony Harber

Castleford Tigers boss Daryl Powell has praised his players after they have hit a purple patch of form to come up with four straight wins in pressure Super League matches.

Powell is understandably pleased with the form of his players in the past month and the way they have bounced back from the disappointment of their Challenge Cup exit and the unfortunate defeat to Huddersfield by beating local rivals Wakefield and Leeds as well as winning at Hull KR and the memorable last-gasp 25-24 success against St Helens last Thursday.

He said: “The team itself is functioning a fair bit better now and we’ve got some consistency about us, which is excellent.

“Our pack is absolutely amazing at the moment. Within that Grant Millington, in particular.

“Andy Lynch has been outstanding as well, He’s always above 100 metres, his work rate is phenomenal and he’s so consistent as a player, as a leader, a trainer. Everything about him has been outstanding while he’s been back at Castleford.

“But they’ve all been great. Players getting better, being consistent and delivering excellence.

“I had a couple of chats with Junior Moors a few weeks back and he’s responded outstandingly well.

“He’s lost a little bit of weight and whether he plays in the middle or later on in games when he’s been moving into the back row, he’s just been doing really well for us.

“He’s starting to show what we thought we would get from him and he’s going to be a big player for us over the rest of the year.

“Jake Webster has been really good in the last month as well. He’s really come into his own. He’s looked strong, he’s looked good on his feet, he’s defending well and he’s a handful. He’s been someone who’s really come to the fore in this winning run we’ve been on.

“Our half-backs have got control at the minute and Benny Roberts has done well at full-back.”